Thestarpheonix.com quotes Ottawa and Toronto Lawyer Guy Giorno in an article about the provincial lobbyist registry in Saskatchewan.
“Not all lobbying is transparent,” said Guy Giorno, an Ottawa-based lawyer specializing in public accountability who previously served as chief of staff to former prime minister Stephen Harper.
Giorno, who spoke in general terms about Saskatchewan’s Lobbyists Act, said it is quite possible for companies to achieve their goals with less than 100 hours of lobbying. The current 100-hour threshold means the public has, to some degree, no knowledge of who, if anyone, has paid to influence which decisions, Giorno added.
“We just know that the more information that’s out there, the more people know what’s going on, the more things are open, the better off we are and the more confident we can be in our institutions.”
